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Educator exemplifies need to support standout teachers
Green Valley High School forensics and debate teacher Scott Ginger teaches fifth period forensics Monday, May 2, 2011.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.
J. Patrick Coolican
Scott Ginger is the John Wooden of Nevada high school speech and debate. The late Wooden was the great UCLA basketball coach who won 10 championships but was equally celebrated for the way he inspired and shaped the lives of young men. Ginger teaches English and speech and debate — it’s called “forensics” by its practitioners — at Green Valley High School, and his forensics team recently won a 10th state championship under his direction. This year, the team will send 15 kids to the national competition in Dallas to face off against 3,000 students.
Ginger has built a machine. His team this year has 90 competitors, which is about average, and has once again attracted a mix of the school’s best and brightest students and its most charismatic performers. Many stay after school with Ginger at least four days a week to practice. And they’re researching public policy or legal or philosophical questions they’ll confront in the all-day competitions — six in town and four out of town, as far away as Berkeley, Calif.
These students will in turn pass the tradition to younger students, and it rolls on, devouring undermatched opponents. Meanwhile, older siblings pass the tradition on to younger, parents tell the neighbor kids, and eighth-grade English teachers at Green Valley’s feeder schools talk up the program for the next group of superstars. They don’t rebuild. They reload.
I shouldn’t give the wrong impression about Ginger, however. He’s not some high pressure authoritarian. When I was interviewing him I had a sense from his genuine, down-to-earth, kind demeanor that he was from the Midwest. Sure enough — Iowa.
And for Ginger, it’s not about winning. “This is a vehicle to build character, to be ethical, to be kind, to think big picture and think about others. And when kids see that model, they’re working for each other.” A former student who is a new mom emailed Ginger and told him she was instilling in her child the lessons she learned in the program. “That’s the real win,” he says.
A leader is someone with the intangible ability to inspire us to be better than what we are. Ginger isn’t the rah-rah type. His specialty is quiet direction and the development of student leaders — the team has eight captains — who then push the program forward and develop still more leaders.
Earlier this year, I was reporting a story about Nevada losing its finest students, who often leave the state to attend elite universities elsewhere, and often don’t return. I wanted to interview some recent top-notch graduates, so I called Green Valley High School. I was directed to Ginger; I found it a little odd — why a teacher and not a guidance counselor?
I told Ginger what I was looking for. Within 24 hours, I started getting calls. Lots of them, telling me “Mr. Ginger,” as they still refer to him, had asked them to call me. They called me from Stanford and Harvard, from honors programs at UNLV and UNR, from a high-powered local law firm, from a Seattle software firm, from a California think tank. If you think about it, forensics might be the best extracurricular activity to prepare students for success — it requires preparation, hard work, critical thinking and communication skills. Life in a nutshell.
We need more Mr. Gingers. I think we can all agree on that. So I ask you to explain to me how laying off hundreds of Clark County teachers and possibly many more and giving the survivors a pay cut — as Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget would require even with state forecasters’ upbeat economic forecast released Monday — would deliver more Mr. Gingers.
(Ginger’s students who are on their way to the national competition are raising money for the trip. To contribute, contact Green Valley High School, 799-0950.)
Discussion: 10 comments so far…
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I have no doubt that Mr Ginger is one of the best and brightest teachers in CCSD. However, I would challenge Mr. Ginger to take his craft to Mojave HS in N. Las Vegas. A brand new, energetic young principal has been assigned there. it would be interesting to see if Mr. Ginger could work miracles at Mojave. I challenge you Mr. Ginger...do the right thing.
Thank you LV Sun for this article. I am glad some positive media coverage about teachers finally coming out. Mr. Coolican and whoever else write for the LV Sun, please go to schools and watch teachers. Watch a kindergarten classoom with over 30 students and see the teacher does magic with five-year olds.
There are too many people who insult and denigrate teachers. They simply are ignorant about what we do. Articles such as this will help them understand. Thank you again.
Dear Mr. Coolican, Great article! Thank you. Can you please continue this thread with a profile of those who work with the students who are often NOT considered the best and the brightest? Or choose some teachers serving students at lower economic status schools? We are out there. Trust me. Ask us. Again, thank you for a lovely article!
Thank you. Yes, please support standout teachers. Pay them more. Whatever. But please stop denigrating those of us who work very hard (much harder than the vast majority of our students) and do our darnedest but cannot spend every waking moment on our jobs and cannot perform miracles with low and lazy students. An apology for your support of the anti-teacher propaganda film Waiting for 'Superman' would be welcome.
This is quite an accomplishment at any school in the nation. Great job Mr. Ginger.
Why is the assumption here by some of you that praising this teacher automatically calls into the question the worth of the job you are doing? By praising Mr. Ginger at Green Valley HS, the writer of this article is NOT neglecting those teachers who work with students from other areas of the valley. Some of these comments are rather short-sighted. Certainly there is disparity between and among students at different schools, and no one is going to argue that this disparity in parental support, funding, and even student involvement does not bring with it some intense challenges. But the work of one educator with students who are motivated also brings with it a set of challenges. And I'm sure some of you who question this teacher's ability to find success at another school would find it a unique challenge teaching his students day in and day out. It is problematic not to mention dangerous to assume that teachers with higher level classes and motivated students have it easier than others. And if that IS true, then we need to stop thinking that honors and AP kids can simply teach themselves.
Having worked with Mr. Ginger and observed close up his level of excellence, and how the students at Green Valley H.S. so respect him, this fine article reinforces what many in our community already know: that Mr. Ginger is exemplary of just the kind of dedicated, involved, effective teacher our school system needs. The real question now in our state's budget mess is: how do we retain such teachers in the system? And how do we recruit new teachers who show the promise of excellence?
We can't do this with Governor Sandoval's chain-saw massacre budget for education in our state. And remember: everything is related to everything else, with degrees of separation and "pass it on" effects. Higher education in Nevada sinks deep roots into K-12, and represents the opportunity that students who work to excel are reaching for to live productive, happy lives. As this column points out: education is not only what students learn from books but how best to live their lives.
Lives are at stake now. Write to your legislators and demand that they not "sunset" the 2009 tax fix so that education has a fighting chance!
Senators Hardy, McGinnis and Rhodes: are you listening? Do you care?
" We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
- Scott Ginger and Aristotle
Green Valley High School = Excellence
Why are teachers who are professionals paid 14% less than other professionals?
Mr. Unger, please refrain from blaming the Governor for not going down to the offices of CCSD and doing their jobs for them. The Governor said make cuts, CCSD said those cuts should be teachers. It is not the fault of the Governor that CCSD has been over spending and cannot support itself any longer, it is the fault of CCSD and those who still haven't made decisions about the budget. They are waiting for more of the "mystery money" to arrive from rehashing the books.
GeorgeWashington, behind every teacher there are a couple administrators that need to get paid therefore the pay discrepancy. You are correct that teaching should be the priority but give CCSD a couple years and they will figure that out. Or at least we can all hope they will get their priorities straight by then.
You are right Bob. One night, I was about to leave my classroom and stopped to look back. This is what kept me awake: "How the heck am I going to fit 27 students in this space when at 20 I have to maneuver around desks and equipment to go from one end to the other!"
This is a miniscule problem and to many, irrelevant, against a backdrop of budget cuts. But, to students and teachers who are in it every day, it exacerbates the problem of an already challenging class with behavior problems.
Imagine yourself in that situation!
May I say, Why didn't anybody ask me! Oh, I forgot. Nobody cares about teachers.
Oh, SadTeacher, in yourself you state the problem. What do you do when extras come to dinner, just say "no", or "move over, we have other joining us". OH, I FORGOT, NOBODY CARES ABOUT TEACHERS.
Please note: You were not "Teacher of the Year" as mentioned in the RJ, and you were not mentioned in this article. Could it be your attitude? DID YOU NOT READ THE ARTICLE? He has 90 students. 90, that is 9 with a zero after it, ninety. I will place you as the zero behind it. Why not go learn how this man can handle 90 and not complain about 20, or 27?
Lets pretend, you won "Teacher of the Year", only 20 celebrate, cause you didn't have the capacity for another 7. Stay negative girl. Drink the glass of wine silently.
dhenry: He doesn't have 90 students in one room at one time.
Dhenry:
Boy - what ignorance! Mr. Ginger does not have 90 in one period! That is the total number of students he teaches - not all at one time - in one classroom, AND they are not 5-6-year olds!
That is exactly the point in my letter to the editor. The IGNORANCE of many is amazing. In my case, there is going to be 27 in one TINY room, all day long. High school classrooms are much larger, and the teacher teaches a group of students at a time.
Here's a cure for your ignorance: Come to schools and observe. Then you comment. Otherwise, "it is better to be silent than to be proven a FOOL!"
Oh geez!
A Sad Teacher:
Take your own advice and get your facts straight.
A high school teacher would be thrilled to have just 90 students!! 90 students = speech & debate classes, not his entire teaching load.
Why you can't be happy for soneone else's success and recognition?
Inmyopinion:
Whachatalkinaboutwillis? Do ya even read?Geez. What is this world coming to! Beam me up Scotty!
It appears Scott Ginger has a very successful extracurrecular program. So what? So do many sports and arts instructors within the CCSD. Does Mr. Ginger get a stipend for this activity? Maybe we should CUT funding for this program and programs like it, make parents of these future lawyers pay for the program, and use the money to save the job of some Math teacher at Rancho or Cheyenne or Mojave.
A Sad Teacher -
Yes, I do read:
The article indicates "Ginger teaches English and speech and debate..." and later that "His team this year has 90 competitors""
So, in addition to teaching 90 speech and debate students, he also teaches ENGLISH. High school teachers in core classes (like English) have 140 - 180 students per day.
I am not saying that is harder or easier than 20 five & six year olds. That's just what it is.
Scott Ginger an symbol of the many, many outstanding and hardworking teachers in the Clark School District. For every Scott Ginger you read about in the newspaper, there are countless other teachers working just as diligently, just as successfully. He represents the silent majority! Thank you, Scott!
It amazes me the hatred in the hearts of so many individuals who write posts. What prevents you from celebrating the achievements Scott's students have made through the years because his expertise in the classroom? What prevents you from saying, "Damn! What an incredible teacher!" Why is your first response, "it would be interesting to see if Mr. Ginger could work miracles at Mojave. I challenge you Mr. Ginger...do the right thing." HE IS DOING THE RIGHT THING -- DID YOU NOT READ THE ARTICLE?
"It appears Scott Ginger has a very successful extra-curricular program. So what?...Does Mr. Ginger get a stipend for this activity? Maybe we should CUT funding for this program and programs like it, make parents of these future lawyers pay for the program, and use the money to save the job of some Math teacher at Rancho or Cheyenne or Mojave." His stipend for Forensics is around a $1000 a SCHOOL YEAR -- how many hours do you think he puts in YEAR ROUND. Seriously - he does the RIGHT thing. How many teachers at Rancho or Cheyenne do you think you can save on his $1000?? And I guarantee the man doesn't say to himself, "I want to do Forensics so I can get $1000 more year!" He makes PENNIES an hour for his EXTRA work with forensics.
Think before you post. Consider before you post. Bottom line -- be human before you post. Celebrate -- don't denigrate.
Hello, I am a freshman at Green Valley this year and I am indeed in forensics! lol Mr. Ginger is awesome he is a great teacher and a lot of the varsity members, like many shown in the pictures are very helpul to us Novice student (which means 1st year or new) and if it werent for all the nice people in the classes i dont think i would have been doing as well as i am. THANKS MR.GINGER!